Online Destination Image Development: The Role of Authenticity, Source Credibility, and Involvement

Arifur Rahman; Tanvir Ahmed; Naila Sharmin; Mily Akhter

Arifur Rahman La Trobe University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3221-2529
Tanvir Ahmed La Trobe University
Naila Sharmin University of Dhaka
Mily Akhter University of Dhaka

Keywords: Destination image, source credibility, Authenticity, Involvement, Social media, Intention to Visit

Abstract

Social media platforms are now prevalent in tourism literature and have the potential to influence tourists’ decision-making by impacting the process of their destination image (DI) formation. This study aims to investigate online DI formation in tourists' minds and its impact on the intention to visit a site by incorporating three pivotal constructs—authenticity, source credibility, and involvement. The interrelationships are examined for a sample of 360 tourists. The PLS-SEM findings highlight the need to explore the role of authenticity and involvement in online platforms' specific context more extensively. The outcome adds to the academic and industry discussion about the significance of online platforms in impacting the critical elements of tourism literature and offer important implications regarding destinations' social media representation.

Author Biography

Arifur Rahman, La Trobe University

Dr. Arifur Rahman is the sessional academic of Marketing and Tourism in the La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia. Arifur's commitment to research is predominantly in the areas of temporal vacation decision-making, application of framing postulates in travel and tourism decision-making contexts, social business and sustainable development, Big data analytics, gig economy, and digital marketing. He has had papers published in international leading journals such as Tourism Management and Tourism Analysis. He has co-authored three book chapters accepted and published in Springer, Palgrave MacMillan publications, and others. He also had working papers accepted and presented for CAUTHE, SSRNet, IBSS, AHTMM, and TTRA conferences.